Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Harvey is not over and that it will take months for the state to recover from its devastating floods.

'The worst is not yet over as far as the rain goes for southeast Texas. There's more to come,' he said at a press conference on Wednesday where he described the catastrophe as being 'far larger' than Katrina or Sandy.

In what experts are describing as the worst natural disaster in US history, more than 32,000 people are in shelters across Texas and at least 38 people have been killed as a result of the devastating floods, even as Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

In one area of Houston alone there were another 17 deaths reported on Wednesday.

The death toll is expected to rise dramatically as the waters recede. 'I'm worried about how many bodies we're going to find,' Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said on Tuesday as he mourned the loss of one of his own officers who drowned trying to get to work.

The cost of the damage, which includes 500,000 ruined cars, is likely to total $160 billion. The Texas Department of Safety revealed on Wednesday that 48,700 homes had been impacted by the floods.

Even evacuation shelters in parts of the state were not safe from the chaos. Water rushed through the Bob Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur on Tuesday where scores of evacuees were taking shelter.

Harvey has brought the heaviest rainfall in US history, soaking Texas with more than 51 inches since it first made landfall last Friday.

The Houston Fire Department said Wednesday that the department they will conduct a block-by-block search of neighborhoods that were flooded by Harvey and had previously been inaccessible to authorities starting Thursday morning.

The National Hurricane Center also downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression on Wednesday evening, but warns of continuing flooding in parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Harvey is not over and that it will take months for the state to recover from its devastating floods. Pictured: Residents are evacuated through flood waters in West Houston on Wednesday

A sign reading 'turn around' and 'deep water' warns evacuees of the flood waters in Lakeside Estate in Houston on Wednesday

Experts are describing storm Harvey as the worst natural disaster in US history. Pictured: Residents being evacuated on jet skis and boats in Northwest Houston on Wednesday

At least 38 people have been killed as a result of the devastating floods and in one area of Houston alone there were another 17 deaths reported on Wednesday. Pictured: Residents evacuating floods in West Houston

The cost of the damage, which includes 500,000 ruined cars, is likely to total $160 billion. Pictured: Residents are rescued from flooded areas of West Houston

The Texas Department of Safety revealed on Wednesday that 48,700 homes had been impacted by the floods. Pictured: residents are rescued in West Houston

A flooded gas station is seen during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Houston on Wednesday

A flooded road is seen in the aftermath of Harvey on Wednesday in Houston

Eighty-year-old John Paul Klotz, center, pulls his can out of floodwaters as US Border Patrol Agent Steven Blackburn stands by to help Klotz board an boat during a search a rescue operation in a neighborhood inundated by Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston Wednesday

Klotz is pulled on a boat by US Border Patrol Agents Steven Blackburn, left, Ramiro Rodriguez, top center, and Juan Flores during a search a rescue operation in a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters in Houston on Wednesday

Saltwater Salvage diver Justin Hendrickson prepares to dive near the Columbia Lakes subdivision on Wednesday in West Columbia. Hendrickson was walked to the dive spot by fellow diver Dave Oltroge before he dove to shut a levee gate value to prevent more flooding to the neighborhood

The US Coast Guard responds to search and rescue requests after Hurricane Harvey in the Beaumont on Wednesday. The Coast Guard is working closely with all federal, state and local emergency operations centers and has established incident command posts to manage search and rescue operations

Emergency crews continued to work in Buffalo Bayou, Houston, on Wednesday to rescue stranded residents from Hurricane Harvey's flood waters

A woman is overcome with grief as she is evacuated from her home in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday with her pet

Jason Hunt, a firefighter from Arkadelphia, Arkansas, carries a woman to dry ground on Wednesday after she was rescued from her apartment complex when it was inundated with water in Houston

Evacuees ride on a truck after they were driven from their homes by the flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday in Port Arthur

A home in Port Arthur is surrounded by water after the flooding of Hurricane Harvey inundated the area

Trucks pass each other along Highway 90 after parts of the road were flooded by Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday in Port Arthur

Chris Wiley keeps an eye out for people needing help in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday

Sam Boyd holds her son Skylar while they are evacuated on an airboat friom their apartment complex in Houston on Wednesday. It was Skylar's first birthday

A cat tries to find dry ground around an apartment complex in Houston on Wednesday

Evacuees in Port Arthur wait to be transported to a shelter after being rescued from flooding on Wednesday

Evacuees are evacuated on a motorboat after being rescued in Port Arthur

People wait on a strip of dry land for rescue boats after being driven from their homes on Wednesday in Port Arthur

The hurricane center said Harvey is located about 10 miles southwest of Alexandria, Louisiana and has maximum sustained winds of 35mph.

The center said the threat of heavy rains has ended for the Houston and Galveston areas, but 'life-threatening' flooding will continue in and around Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur and southwest Louisiana, where many are still in need of rescue, particularly in Beaumont and Port Arthur.

Harvey is expected to produce an additional 4 to 8 inches of rainfall along the Texas-Louisiana line.

A levee on private property near Gueydan, Louisiana had a 30-yard section washed away in the 2016 flood and was never replaced, according to Louisiana State Police Master Trooper Brooks David, who said the water was going through that portion of the levee on Wednesday.

A nearby highway has been blocked off in the area of the levee and about 30 homes in Gueydan could be in danger if the water rises. At its highest point, the flooding has reached about a foot, according to KATC.

Because the levee is on property owned by an oil company, negotiations are underway for public funding to be used to legally help fix the levee.

Meanwhile, the state's Lake Charles Civic Center is stocking up and preparing to take in flooding evacuees from Texas and Louisiana.

In Texas, anyone who is still in need of rescue is being asked to get on high ground and wave white towels or sheets to make themselves visible. Overwhelmed authorities are asking anyone with boats to help in the rescue efforts.

As rescue teams and volunteers continue rescuing stranded residents from the waters, National Guardsmen and women have been brought back from overseas deployment to help with the disaster.

There are 30,000 people in shelters across the state with another 10,000 expected to become displaced

The NRG stadium which hosted this year's Superbowl has opened its doors to house the needy

38 people are confirmed dead but the official death toll is feared to be significantly higher

Dams in Houston have failed and water plants are swamped, making drinking water across some counties unsafe

A midnight to 5am curfew is in place to stop looters and other opportunistic criminals

Louisiana is bracing itself for 10 inches of rain as Harvey barrels along the coast before landing at midday

Residents in Port Arthur and Beaumont are clambering to their roofs to be rescued as the floods rise

There are mandatory evacuation orders in place across five different counties. For a full list, check here

The cost of the damage by the time the storm has passed is likely to reach $160billion

There are currently 14,000 troops mobilized in Texas and another 10,000 are on their way, Governor Abbott revealed on Wednesday.

He would not give an official death toll but praised volunteers and first responders for going 'above the call of duty' to save lives.

'I am not amazed because we have seen this before,' he said when asked for his response to the efforts of residents to help one another through the crisis.

Governor Greg Abbott gave a bleak press conference on Wednesday where he said the worst of the storm was still not over for some parts of T

Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann says the searches are being done to ensure that "no people were left behind." Floodwaters in many parts of Houston have receded while other neighborhoods are still dealing with rising waters from bayous and other swollen waterways.

Mann says the fire department will conduct these searches throughout the city. Officials expect the process to take one to two weeks to complete.

Mann says since Harvey inundated the Houston area, the fire department has received more than 15,000 calls for service. He says the volume of calls has stabilized and the fire department is working to transition from rescues calls to a recovery mode.

Abbott also used the press conference to admonish businesses and opportunists who were taking advantage of the catastrophe with price gauging.

Best Buy is among retailers under fire for hiking up prices as panic surges across Texas. It has apologized after photographs emerged of packs of water being sold for $42.

'Price gauging is not only reprehensible, it's illegal. It is un-Texan and we will not tolerate it.

Residents of a neighborhood in northwest Beaumont are rescued by boat on Wednesday

Volunteers help handle a boat in a swift current during the rescue of of people from their homes in Beaumont on Wednesday

David White hugs his neighbor, Sherry Blincoe, after she was rescued by boat from her flooded home in Beaumont on Wednesday

The group of volunteers pull the rescue boat from the sweeping currents in Beaumont on Wednesday

Almost 30,000 gallons of crude oil and about 8,500 gallons of wastewater spilled about 150 miles west of Houston because floodwaters from Harvey toppled two oil storage tanks, state officials said Wednesday.

Burlington Resources Oil and Gas reported the spills in DeWitt County to the Texas Railroad Commission on Wednesday. They include a 16,170-gallon (385 barrels) spill near the town of Westhoff and a 13,272 gallon (316 barrels) spill west of Hochheim.

It was not immediately clear if any of the spilled oil was recovered.

Burlington Resources is a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips. Company representatives did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment.

More damage to oil industry infrastructure is expected to emerge as floodwaters recede.

In Crosby, Texas, the CEO of chemical plant Arkema said it could explode and cause an intense fire.

Arkema president and chief executive Rich Rowe said Wednesday evening that the floodwaters from Harvey and the lack of power are keeping the company from preventing an explosion.

The company says the chemical compounds must be stored at low temperatures. He said there is six feet of water at the plant and they have lost critical refrigeration of the materials.

Rowe said: 'We have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire.'

Arkema makes organic peroxides and is about 25 miles northeast of Houston. Officials evacuated the plant and homes within 1.5miles of the plant on Tuesday.

Arkema said it shut down the Crosby site before Harvey made landfall last week, but a crew of 11 had been kept onsite. That group was removed Tuesday.

Volunteers help a woman after she was rescued by boat from her home in Beaumont, Texas on Wednesday

Volunteer rescuer Derek Burke carries Jaylen Welch, 10, out of the flood on Tram Road in Beaumont on Wednesday

Nathan Welch carries his daughter, Elisa, 3, out of the flood on Tram Road on Wednesday

Volunteer Derek Burke, right, helps carry a family's belongings after boaters rescued them from flooding in the aftermath of Harvey in Beaumont on Wednesday

Jaylen Welch, 10, carries her belongings out of the flood on Tram Road in Beaumont after being rescued from flooding on Wednesday

Volunteers help evacuate children from flooding in Beaumont on Wednesday

Josh Benoit carries his Great Dane, Lilly, out of the flood on Tram Road in Beaumont, Texas on Wednesday

Carson Littlefield (left) carries his husky, Spike to safety in Beaumont, Texas. Also in Beaumont, Cory (right) carries his dog out of the flood on Tram Road on Wednesday

Volunteers help handle a boat in a swift current during the rescue of of people from their homes in Beaumont on Wednesday

A volunteer rescues a family and their dogs from their flooded house in Beaumont on Wednesday

People walk along West Port Arthur Road in Beaumont, Texas toward a flooded neighborhood where their family members live after tropical storm Harvey on Wednesday

Evacuees ride on a truck after they were driven from their homes by the flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday in Port Arthur

Mark Boling keeps an eye out for people needing help in Port Arthur on Wednesday after the flooding of Hurricane Harvey inundated the area

Evacuees make their way through the flood waters that surrounded part of the Max Bowl, which was converted to a shelter for those displaced by flooding in Port Arthur, Texas on Wednesday

A man and woman pray as they find a spot together at the Max Bowl in Port Arthur, Texas, on Wednesday

A man sleeps on one of the bowling ball returns on Wednesday as evacuees continue to pour into the Max Bowl, which was converted to a shelter for those displaced by flooding in Port Arthur

Evacuees make their way to Max Bowl, which was converted to a shelter for those displaced by flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey in Port Arthur

A woman gets off a bus at the Max Bowl in Port Arthur, Texas, a bowling alley converted into a shelter as people are displaced from their homes because of flooding from tropical storm Harvey

Tim Linscomb pushes his 12-year-old son through flood water as they evacuate their home in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday

Triumphant residents make their way through the floods on Wednesday in Houston, Texas

Gillis Leho surveys the damage in her car that was ruined by flood waters in Buffalo Bayou

A car floats through rising flood waters in Buffalo Bayou on Wednesday morning in Texas

Two men ride through flood waters in Houston on a jet ski on Wednesday. The rain has stopped in Houston and the floods are now receding but it will take up to a week for them to drain

People are still being rescued in Houston which has been ravaged by rain since Sunday morning

An evacuee cowers in a Red Cross cot at the Bob Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur, Texas, as flood water rises around them on Tuesday night. The evacuees were moved to another shelter shortly after this photograph was taken

The Bob Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur, Texas, - where hundreds were taking shelter from Hurricane Harvey - flooded on Tuesday night as the floods continued to rise

Children and adults were forced to wade through more flood water at the shelter, after already being rescued once, before they were taken to another safe, dry center

On Wednesday, Joel Myers of AccuWeather warned that Harvey had surpassed all other storms in terms of destruction.

'This will be the worst natural disaster in American history. The economy’s impact, by the time its total destruction is completed, will approach $160 billion, which is similar to the combined effect of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy,' he told The New York Post.

At a midday press conference, Governor Greg Abbott said the worst of the rain was not over in Beaumont and Port Arthur and said the disaster was worse than Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.

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'When you consider the population, size, and square mile size of the area impacted both by the hurricane swathe and the flooding, it's far larger than Katrina, far larger than Sandy.'

At the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, the city's main shelter, 10,000 are cramming in to cots, chairs and on the floor.

Among the places to open their doors to victims of Harvey's flooding is a bowling alley in the coastal Texas city of Port Arthur.

Max Bowl general manager Jeff Tolliver says firefighters called Tuesday night to ask him to turn off the venue's alarm system. When he left around 2.30am Wednesday, there were 80 to 100 people sheltering there. By afternoon, there were more than 500, as well as 50 to 100 dogs and cats, a lizard and a monkey.

He says the monkey 'was a little surprising,' but that everyone is trying to help. The bowling alley's cafe is feeding people and others have been dropping off clothes, toiletries, water and other things.

Tolliver and his wife left their flooded home to stay with friends. He says he moved to Texas from Michigan a year ago to get away from the snow, but ended up with rain instead.

A young girl wears arm bands as she is taken through a neighborhood of Houston on a boat while being evacuated from her home

A man carries his dog through flood water after being evacuated from a neighborhood in west Houston on Wednesday

Texans help one another walk through flood water after being evacuated in west Houston on Wednesday

A man wades through knee-deep flood water in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday with more rain on the way

A man uses his boat to navigate the flooded streets in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon

People line up to buy groceries in the Chanelview section of Houston on Wednesday as the flood waters recede

A woman looks out the window of Golden Years senior home in Orange, Texas, as its residents wait to be rescued on Wednesday. Authorities have asked anyone who is trapped to hang white towels, sheets or shirts outside to make themselves visible to rescue crews

A family is taken to safety on board a propeller boat in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday

Volunteers prepare to rescue cattle from the Liberty Bell Ranch in Liberty, Texas, on Wednesday

People ride through flood waters on a boat in west Houston on Wednesday as they escape from the floods

Mike Henry lifts his leg on to a boat as members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rescue in Orange, Texas

People evacuate their homes in Orange, Texas, carrying what they can on their backs as flood waters rise

Volunteer Kyle Denison walks with Rosemarie Carpenter after rescuing her in Orange, Texas, on Wednesday

Experts are calling Harvey, which has brought the heaviest rainfall in US history, the worst natural disaster the country has ever seen. Above, a home in Houston on Tuesday which is now entirely underwater

A home in Houston on Tuesday where flood waters continue to rise as Hurricane Harvey continues. An estimated 40,000 homes have been destroyed in the disaster

An aerial image shows Harvey above Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday as it continues to wreak havoc on the region

A home in Spring, Texas, was both drowned and burned on Wednesday morning after the flooding from Hurricane Harvey sparked a fire inside

Another home in Houston, Texas, was entirely surrounded by water on Tuesday as the floods continued to rise

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A shocking before and after comparison illustrates the flooding on I-10 west of Beaumont in Texas

People are still in urgent need of rescue in Port Arthur and Beaumont where the flood water continues to rise

A record 51.88 inches of rain had fallen in Cedar's Bayou, one of the worst affected areas in Houston, by Tuesday afternoon.

Search and rescue missions are still underway and the number of people still trapped in their homes is unknown.

More than 13,000 have been rescued from their homes and from the water since the storm hit over the weekend.

A state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana but it is not expected to suffer the same devastation as Houston where river levees have burst and dams on the outskirts of the city are overflowing.

On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted of his heartbreak after spending the day in Corpus Christi where thousands have been rendered homeless.

'After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!' he said.

This map shows Harvey's path so far and indicates where the storm is expected next

A forecast map shows the rain scheduled to fall over the next three days with downpours extending to Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas

Flood warnings in place in Beaumont and Lake Charles as well as in southern Alabama and the North West tip of Florida

Harvey made its 3rd landfall on Wednesday at 5am in Cameron, Louisiana, which is near the border with Texas

An aerial view of homes in Spring, Texas, show the drastic flooding across the district on Tuesday

Interstate 69 was almost entirely underwater on Tuesday in Humble, Texas, as a result of the floods

People used boats, jet skis and high water trucks to help each other get to safety on Tuesday as the floods continued to rise

Churches across the city have opened their doors to displaced residents as have mosques and concert arenas.

Other Good Samaritans have rushed to help including mattress and furniture store owner Jim McIngvale who welcomed evacuees into his shops on Monday.

He created a play pen for children and heartwarming photographs of them jumping up and down on his mattresses emerged.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday his agency has rescued about 4,100 people. Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña says they have rescued more than 3,000.

President Trump gave this message to Texans on Wednesday morning

Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office says her agency has rescued more than 3,000 people. Houston is located in Harris County.

US Coast Guard Lt Mike Hart says his agency has rescued more than 3,000 individuals.

Hart says the Coast Guard total includes rescues in Houston, but also in outlying cities and subdivisions outside of Houston, as well as in surrounding counties, including Brazoria, Galveston and Matagorda.

Air Force Major General Witham, the director of domestic operations for the National Guard Bureau, told reporters there are currently about 3,500 National Guard troops involved in Harvey rescue efforts, including 3,000 from the Texas National Guard.

He estimated that the Texas guard number could rise to 8,000 to 10,000 in coming days, possibly joined by 20,000 to 30,000 from other states.

He said the military is providing everything that has been requested by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, although the response is constrained by the stormy weather and by flooding that limits use of roadways.

He said weather has limited the use of military helicopters over the past two or three days, so the Guard has instead used boats and ground vehicles to rescue stranded residents in the Houston area.

Besides the additional National Guard troops from other states, there are about 1,000 active-duty military forces in position to provide assistance if called up by civilian authorities, he said.

Asked whether Texas authorities recognized the magnitude of the disaster quickly enough, Witham said, 'That's debatable.' He said in some respects the need was recognized quickly. But the extraordinary amount of rainfall and flooding exceeded what state planners could have foreseen.

'So if you're looking at an event that only occurs every few hundred years, the planning that would have normally occurred for that probably wasn't here,' Witham said.

'So, in many cases, the request for assistance, not only for the National Guard but federal forces, may not have been anticipated quickly enough.'

A photograph taken inside the home of grandmother Edelmira Gutierrez shows the flooding in Concord Bridge. She was rescued by members of the Fire Department

'I'M WORRIED ABOUT HOW MANY BODIES WE'LL FIND': DEATH TOLL EXPECTED TO BE MUCH HIGHER THAN 30 CONFIRMED

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo gave a bleak forecast of the damage caused by Harvey on Tuesday as he warned that the death toll would be much higher than 30, the number of confirmed deaths on Tuesday morning.

'We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up historically. I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find,' he said.

Search and rescue missions are still underway across Houston with countless people still stranded in their sinking homes.

Emergency services are having to focus on saving the living rather than recover the bodies of the dead. This means the official death toll - which stood at 30 on Tuesday morning - is devastatingly unrealistic.

Among those who have been confirmed dead are six members of one family who drowned in their truck trying to flee their home.

Siblings Devy Saldivar, 16, Dominic, 14, Xavier, eight, and Daisy, six, drowned along with their great grandparents Manuel and Belia on Saturday.

The children's uncle, who was driving the van they became trapped in, was able to escape and survived. Their bodies were found inside the truck at Greens Bayou in Houston on Wednesday, three days after they went missing.

Salvidar siblings Devy, 16, Dominic, 14, Daisy, six, and Xavier, eight, drowned on Saturday as they tried to escape the floods in a truck with their great grandparents and uncle

Their great-grandparents Manuel and Belia Saldivar (pictured), aged 81 and 83, respectively, also drowned. The driver - the children's great-uncle - survived the accident. Their bodies were found inside the van (right) on Wednesday

Houston Police Department Sgt. Steve Perez died trying to get to work on Monday

Collette Sulcer, 41, died on Tuesday after she got swept away by strong currents in Beaumont, Texas while trying to carry her three-year-old daughter Jordyn to safety

Houston Police Officer Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, died in his car as he tried to get to work on Monday.

He worked for the department for 34 years and refused to stay at home as the disaster was unfolding, choosing instead to go to work to help the people of Houston.

A spokeswoman for a Houston hotel said one of its employees disappeared while helping about 100 guests and workers evacuate the building.

Beaumont police say a woman, Collette Sulcer, 41, died after she and her three-year-old daughter Jordyn, were swept into a rain-swollen drainage canal while trying to escape their stalled vehicle.

A police statement said the woman pulled her vehicle into an office park's flooded parking lot about 3.35pm Tuesday, where it became stalled by high water. The woman then took her daughter, exited the car and was swept about a half-mile away.

Two Beaumont police officers and two fire-rescue divers in a rubber boat spotted the mother floating with the child, who was holding onto her mother. Officers pulled the child and the mother into the boat.

The child was responsive but suffering from hypothermia; the mother was unresponsive and efforts to revive her failed. The child is hospitalized in stable condition.

Harris County confirmed the storm-related death of 64-year-old Alexander Kwoksum Sung, who drowned at a clock repair business Sunday in Houston. He was found in more than a foot of debris on Monday.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences updated its storm-related deaths Tuesday night to include an 89-year-old woman, Agnes Stanley, who was found floating in four feet of floodwater in a home.

A 76-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was found floating in floodwater near a vehicle. A 45-year-old man, Travis Lynn Callihan, left his vehicle and fell into floodwaters. He was taken to a hospital, where he died Monday.

Two other men, volunteer rescuers, also died. Married father-of-two Jorge Perez, 33, and 25-year-old Yahir Vizueth, who was unmarried, were confirmed dead Tuesday night.

They were among seven men on board a motorboat when it was electrocuted by submerged power lines in Houston on Monday. Two other men who were with them, Gustavo Rodriguez Hernandez and Benjamin Jimmy Vizueth are still missing.

The three others on the boat, including two DailyMail.com journalists, were taken to the hospital for electrical burns.

Orange County Judge Stephen Carlton said Wednesday that two people died from storm-related causes on Monday night in the city of Orange, Texas.

On Wednesday afternoon, Fort Bend County Sheriff's Major Chad Norvell said a married couple, 65-year-old Donald Rogers and 58-year-old Rochelle Rogers, drowned after they drove their pickup truck into Harvey's floodwaters and the current from a nearby creek swept them away.

Norvell said the couple was on the phone with 911 asking for help when the line went silent. When officers found the truck, it was completely submerged.

They lived in a rural area of the county southwest of Houston and they were headed to a relative's house nearby.

Family of the men have been posting photos on social media in a bid to track them down. Yahir Vizuet Rubio (left) was confirmed dead and Benjamin Jimmy Vizueth (right) is still missing

Gustavo Rodriguez Hernandez (left) is still missing but the body of Jorge Perez (right) was found

Brazoria County - a suburb south of Houston - issued this dramatic warning on Tuesday morning as the levees of the Brazos river burst in Columbia Lakes

As waters continue to rise, public health officials are warning that flooding increases the risk of illnesses ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.

On Monday afternoon the town of Dickinson issued a mandatory evacuation order and residents near Columbia Lakes in Brazoria County were told Tuesday morning to leave immediately after a levee was breached.

Residents within 1.5miles of a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, were evacuated on Tuesday as a 'precautionary measure' because of the rising risk of an explosion, the local fire marshal's office said in a Twitter message.

More than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters and that number seemed certain to increase, the American Red Cross said.

As people continue to flock to the overcrowded George R Brown Convention Center, Houston is planning to open a few other 'mega-shelters' for evacuees.

'We are not turning anyone away. But it does mean we need to expand our capabilities and our capacity,' Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. 'Relief is coming.

Port Arthur authorities pleaded for help from volunteers on Wednesday

Televangelist Joel Osteen opened his Houston megachurch, a 17,000-seat former arena that was the longtime home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, on Tuesday as a shelter after social media critics slammed him for not offering to house people in need while Harvey swamps the city.

Osteen announced the effort in a tweet, saying he and wife Victoria Osteen 'care deeply about our fellow Houstonians'.

Later in the day, the Toyota Center was accepting people who could not find space at the convention center.

However the arena had only 500 cots added to its floor because the convention center will remain the primary shelter for Harvey evacuees.

Mayor Turner said Tuesday night that people will still have to go to the convention center first before going into the Toyota Center.

A man stands in flood water up to his chest waist near the Addicks Reservoir on the outskirts of Houston on Tuesday

Jannett Martinez holds her cat Gigi as they catch a ride on a boat out of her neighborhood near the Addicks Reservoir

Volunteers from Texas A&m help rescue horses from the floods along the south Sam Houston Tollway on Tuesday

People wade through neck deep water in Pine Cliff Drive near the Addicks Reservoir in Houston on Tuesday

A man is helped off a truck in Houston after being rescued from one of the flood zones. Residents have been forced to rescue one another as the emergency services struggle to keep up with the storm

People hug one another on the back of a truck as they are rescued from neighborhoods near the Addicks Reservoir

Tom McCasland, Houston's housing and community development director, said Tuesday that the Toyota Center will serve as an overflow center for people still arriving Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

CNN REPORTER RESCUES MAN FROM TRUCK LIVE ON AIR

Reporter Drew Griffin saved a man whose truck was being carried down a ravine at frightening pace on Wednesday during a live cross with his network CNN.

The cameras were still rolling when Griffin and a crew members grabbed a rope and ran over to help the man identified as Jerry Sumrall of Winnie, Texas.

Afterwards, Sumrall said on air: ' I want to thank these guys for saving my life.'

It will only serve families with children that don't have pressing medical needs.

McCasland says more cots are on the way for thousands of people who didn't have one Monday night. Some people slept on towels or strips of cardboard.

He says, 'We fully expect to have everyone in a cot tonight.'

Turner said Tuesday night that because Houston police have been spread thin due to ongoing water rescues and other efforts, 50 Texas National Guard members will be stationed at the convention center to provide security.

Houston officials opened a major shelter at NRG Park that can accommodate up to 10,000 evacuees.

Darian Ward, a spokeswoman for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, said the convention center adjacent to the city's NFL stadium and the Astrodome opened at 10pm Tuesday.

Mayor Turner also said Tuesday the city has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more supplies, including cots and food, for additional 10,000 people, which he hopes to get no later than Wednesday.

The mayor also issued an overnight curfew beginning on Tuesday night for an indefinite period amid incidents of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.

The curfew will run from 10pm until 5am and Houston is bringing additional police from other regions, Turner said in a news conference Tuesday evening.

'You cannot drive, nor be in any public place. We have had problems with armed robberies, with people with guns and firearms,' Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

Those who violate the curfew will be questioned, searched and arrested, Acevedo said.

The George R Brown Convention Center (pictured) in downtown Houston, Texas, has a capacity of up to 5,000 people, but Monday night 9,021 people stayed in the center

Volunteer Elizabeth Hill, eight, plays with evacuee Skyler Smith, seven, at the St Thomas Presbyterian Church in West Houston on Tuesday

A woman in a wheelchair carries a child on her lap as she arrives at the Convention Center which is housing people from flooded homes after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in Houston

The curfew comes after fourteen people were arrested for looting in the Houston area over the past 48 hours, as floodwaters from Harvey continue to devastate the region.

Officials said Tuesday night they have received disturbing reports of people impersonating Homeland Security special agents and telling residents to evacuate in order to rob their homes.

The city of Houston says people should ask anyone knocking on their doors for official badges and credentials with their name and organization. The city's statement also notes that during Harvey relief efforts, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not conducting immigration enforcement operations in the area.

The city also says in a tweet in both English and Spanish that it is not checking the immigration status of anyone coming into shelters.

On Tuesday, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards offered to take in Harvey victims from Texas.

Edwards said he expects Texas officials to decide within 48 hours whether to accept the offer, which comes as Louisiana is also helping its own residents who were rescued from Harvey's floodwaters overnight.

About 500 people were evacuated Monday night and early Tuesday from flooded neighborhoods in southwest Louisiana, and about 200 spent the night in area shelters, Edwards said.

Meteorologists have said Harvey will spend much of Wednesday dropping rain on Louisiana before moving on to Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri, which could also see flooding.

National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said that Houston would soon get a chance to dry out and that when the storm returns to land Wednesday, 'it's the end of the beginning'.

But Feltgen cautioned: 'We're not done with this. There's still an awful lot of real estate and a lot of people who are going to feel the impacts of the storm.'

The National Weather Service predicted less of an inch of rain for Houston on Wednesday and only a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms for Thursday. Friday's forecast called for mostly sunny skies with a high near 94.

President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday, and the White House said his stops in Corpus Christi and Austin were meant to highlight coordination at all levels of government and lay the groundwork for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery after the storm.

Trump traveled with the secretaries of health and human services and housing and urban development, and the head of the Small Business Administration.

Airmen from the 125th Special Tactic Squadron and the 304th Rescue Squadron board a U.S. Air National Guard C-130 Hercules at Portland National Air Guard Air Base to take to Texas

National Guardsmen board a plane at Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon to fly supplies to Texas

People walk outside the Houston Convention Center which is housing evacuees from flooded homes after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding

A woman and her child check into the Convention Center on Tuesday

Evacuees line up to apply for FEMA aid at the Convention Center which is housing people from flooded homes

A family prepares to sleep at Houston's Convention Center on Tuesday night

A man sleeps outside the Convention Center on Tuesday. As Houston's main hurricane shelter, the center was overcrowded with more than 9,000 evacuees

Evacuee Teddy Gifford, 90, waits for a medical evaluation with first responder Veronica Garza at the Lakewood Church in Houston Tuesday. Joel Olsteen and his congregation have set up their church as a shelter for evacuees from the flooding by Tropical Storm Harvey

Volunteers separate donated clothing from a huge pile at the George R. Brown Convention Center. 'I'm so proud how everyone is coming together,' said one woman in her second day of volunteering

Evacuees fill up cots at the George Brown Convention Center that has been turned into a shelter run by the American Red Cross to house victims of the high water from Hurricane Harvey

The president raised spirits as he addressed a crowd of fans at a firehouse in Corpus Christi, telling them: 'This is historic, it's epic, what happened, but you know what, it happened in Texas. Texas can handle anything.'

SINGAPORE ARMY LENDS HELICOPTERS TO HARVEY RESCUE EFFORTS

On Wednesday morning, Singapore's defense ministry says as many as four of its military helicopters will start assisting in Tropical Storm Harvey relief efforts.

The CH-47 Chinook helicopters are stationed in Grand Prairie, Texas, as part of a decades-long partnership between the Republic of Singapore Air Force and Texas National Guard. Singaporean airmen who train there learn how to face large-scale emergencies.

The ministry says the helicopters will be able to airlift troops, evacuees and supplies in the relief effort.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the offer in a call with President Donald Trump late Tuesday. Both leaders are set to meet at the White House in October.

Singapore made a similar offer after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

He promised to take care of survivors and help with rescue efforts, saying: 'We love you. You are special. We are here to take care of you.'

US lawmakers have already begun contemplating the massive rebuilding costs, leaving some Republicans in a tricky spot after they opposed federal aid when a storm devastated eastern states in 2012.

'I believe we need to put an aid package together for $150 billion' for emergency relief and recovery from Harvey, House Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, whose Houston district remained largely underwater, told CNN

In Brazoria County, Texas, authorities posted a message on Twitter Tuesday morning warning that the levee at Columbia Lakes south of Houston had been breached and telling people to 'GET OUT NOW!!'

Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta said residents were warned that the levee would be overtopped at some point, and a mandatory evacuation order was given Sunday.

The levee was later fortified, but officials said they did not know how long the work would hold.

Engineers began releasing water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs Monday to ease the strain on the dams. But the releases were not enough to relieve the pressure after one of the heaviest downpours in US history, Army Corps of Engineers officials said.

Both reservoirs are at record highs, with the Addicks even overspilled at 108ft.

The release of the water meant that more homes and streets will flood, and some homes will be inundated for up to a month, said Jeff Lindner of the Harris County Flood Control District.

The county is trying to determine where the water will go, Lindner said.

The bridge is on Woodforest Boulevard over Greens Bayou has collapsed and drinking water in Lake Forest is no longer safe due to a loss of water pressure.

Residents there must now boil water before drinking it and using it for cooking or brushing their teeth. Houston prisons were evacuated to save inmates from the floods. Six thousand prisoners have been bused to other correctional facilities across the state.

On Tuesday, the owner of the chemical plant, Arkema SA, said in a statement the situation at its southeast Texas plant 'has become serious' and evacuated all of its staff from the facility in Crosby, Texas.

TODDLER FOUND ALIVE IN FLOOD WATER CLINGING TO MOTHER'S DEAD BODY

Police in Beaumont discovered a freezing toddler clinging to her mother's dead body in water on Wednesday.

The little girl was also wearing a backpack which police believe may have acted as a flotation device and kept her alive.

'They were in the water for quite some time. The mother did the best she could to keep her child up over the water.

'The baby also had a backpack that was helping her float on her back and she was holding on to her mom,' Officer Carol Riley, a spokeswoman for the Beaumont Police Department said.

'As a protective measure Harris County has evacuated all residents within 1.5 miles of the Arkema facility,' said a Twitter message from the Harris County Fire Marshal Office.

'There is a potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire at the facility, which could produce a large amount of black smoke,' the fire marshal, citing Arkema, said.

'While we do not believe there is any imminent danger, the potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines is real,' the company said.

Arkema said the plant has been hit by more than 40 inches of rain, was heavily flooded and without electricity since Sunday. Back-up generators have largely been swamped.

Maintaining refrigeration for chemicals that must be stored at low temperature is key, the company said. After losing generators, workers transferred products from the warehouses into diesel-powered refrigerated containers.

But the floodwaters also compromised the back-up containers, and the company is monitoring temperature levels remotely, it said.

The Arkema plant in Crosby produces organic peroxides. It has been closed since Friday but had a skeletal staff of about a dozen in place. Other Texas chemical plants have also shuttered production because of the storm.

Mark Ocosta and his baby Aubrey Ocosta take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city

An evacuee is patted down as he is processed into the Houston convention center where people are taking refuge

Anglo-Swiss chemicals firm Ineos Group Holdings SA said it has been forced to shut Chocolate Bayou Works and Battleground Manufacturing Complex. INEOS Nitriles' Green Lake facility are following hurricane procedures and are temporarily shut down, spokesman Charles Saunders said.

Huntsman Corp said it has closed six chemical plants in Texas, along with its global headquarters and advanced technology center in Texas.

Although forecasters had feared that another two feet of rain could fall in some places, it appeared that the outlook had improved somewhat on Tuesday. The weather service said the amount of rain falling in the Houston area would be two to three inches, perhaps a little less in Houston proper, as the storm moved east.

But southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana still would see 'relentless torrential rains', with another six to 12 inches of rain across the upper Texas coast through Friday as Harvey continues to move slowly east over the Gulf of Mexico maintaining tropical storm force winds of 45mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

A police officer carries Jessica Lopez, left, and her brother Avelia Lopez to dry ground as people evacuate a neighborhood that was inundated after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir when it reached capacity due to Tropical Storm Harvey on Tuesday

Kathryn Loder of West University separates donated clothing from a huge pile at the George R Brown Convention Center. 'I'm so proud how everyone is coming together,' said Loder in her second day of volunteering

Highways around downtown Houston are empty as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey overflow from the bayous around the city Tuesday

A family is driven out of a flooded neighborhood in Corpus Christi on Tuesday

81-year-old Ramona Bennett is carried by Texas Army National Guardsmen Sergio Esquivel (L) and Ernest Barmore (R) after being evacuated from her home in Pine Forest Village

Huge fundraising efforts are underway by the Red Cross. The New York Stock Exchange has donated $1million and Facebook has raised more than $1million as well.

Celebrities including actor Kevin Hart and Real Housewives of New York star and business mogul Bethenny Frankel have pledged more than $50,000 combined.

NFL Houston Texans' player JJ Watt raised more than $4.7million for Hurricane Harvey victims on a YouCaring page by Tuesday night.

The cost of the storm will extend beyond state lines. Experts at Goldman Sachs say it is likely to reduce GDP growth by 0.2per cent. Oil prices surged as supplies became suddenly precarious on Tuesday.

The full extent of the damage is not yet clear and won't be for some time. For now, charities and volunteers are focusing on the immediate needs of the people who have been displaced.

Dallas is preparing super shelters for thousands of displaced residents. On Monday afternoon, military planes transported the first evacuees to the Lively Point Youth Center in Irving. The space has capacity for about 200 evacuees and the shelter will be run by the Red Cross and City of Irving employees.

Rescue efforts are ongoing in Texas where floods continue to wreak havoc on Houston and where almost 30,000 are taking shelter in refuges

The city's emergency management coordinator said they are planning for the shelters to run 'long term'. Evacuees and those working the shelters have and will be vetted through criminal background checks.

The City of Dallas is also planning to host more than 5,000 evacuees in a shelter at the convention center.

Over the weekend, Mayor Turner asked anyone with a boat to help with efforts. Many Texans responded bravely to his call to arms and were out in force on Saturday saving vulnerable neighbors and strangers from the floods.

Earlier this week, Mayor Turner came under fire for his decision not to evacuate Houston, but he said it would have caused more chaos to send millions of people on the roads without a well-organized evacuation plan.

And when the storm began on Friday, Houston was not immediately hit. It was safe from the battering winds which tore apart towns on the coast and many felt confident enough to remain in their homes.

However as the storm moved further inland on Saturday and Saturday, floods - the likes of which the city has never before seen - swept through.

Public health fears as diseases spread by flood water threaten Hurricane Harvey survivors

US public health officials warned Monday that flooding increases the risk of ills ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.

The most immediate health risk is from drowning, especially for people trapped in vehicles, said Renee Funk, associate director for emergency management of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators is another threat.

'Unfortunately, we expect there will be people who die from that and people will be poisoned from it,' Funk said in a telephone interview.

But simply wading in floodwaters could cause skin rashes because so much of the water is contaminated with toxic chemicals that get washed out of people's garages and tool sheds.

'The number one thing we're concerned with in a flood is chemicals,' said Funk, who advises people to shower and wash their hands immediately after contact with floodwaters.

Mosquito-borne disease is less of an immediate threat because the floodwaters will wash out most mosquito breeding sites for disease-causing mosquitoes such Aedes aegypti, which spread Zika, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever, she said.

Floods typically cause a rise in nuisance mosquitoes, such as the Culex variety, and these, too, can carry disease.

A year after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, regions in Louisiana and Mississippi affected by the flood reported a doubling of cases of neuroinvasive West Nile virus - cases in which the virus caused severe inflammation in the brain or spinal cord, said Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

'A year from now, we'll have to look very closely at West Nile and other mosquito-borne viruses,' said Hotez, who is riding out the storm from his Houston home while his lab at Baylor is closed.

In the immediate aftermath of Harvey, bacterial diseases are a concern, although cholera, a scourge in the wake of many natural disasters in developing countries, is likely not a worry in Houston, he said.